Double Dragon commits rooftop of 50 malls for common telco leasing

Double Dragon chair Edgar “Injap” Sia II

MANILA, Philippines — CityMall Commercial Centers Inc., the shopping mall arm of Double Dragon Properties Corp., seeks to unlock values from the rooftop of 50 of its provincial CityMalls by leasing the space to a common telecommunication (telco) tower provider.

CityMall signed an agreement to lease the space to ALT-Global-Solutions Inc., one of the 19 common telco tower companies that have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Information and Communications (DICT), DoubleDragon disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The rollout of common telco towers is part of DICT’s thrust to improve cellular services in the country by allowing the three telco companies in the Philippines to share vital infrastructure.

DoubleDragon, for its part, is finding ways to tap new revenue streams from leasing of roof space for solar and advertising space in its string of strategic properties around the country, alongside the latest deal on rooftop space leasing.  About 100 CityMall community malls will be built across the country, catering to provincial locations.

“DoubleDragon’s portfolio of completed leasable space is like a large fuel tank and its secured leases is the fuel inside the tank which will ensure the continuous flow of rental revenues into the company. As DoubleDragon completes more leasable spaces, the tank becomes bigger and as the company secures more lease contracts the volume of fuel inside the tank increases,” said DoubleDragon chair Edgar Sia II.

By the end of 2020, DoubleDragon’s CityMall community malls and CentralHub warehouses are also expected to lease out a total of 100 megawatts of solar space, translating to around P100 million in annual rental income from solar roof lease alone. Rental income from advertising and common telco towers is seen to further boost revenues.